A variety of different access devices are presently known, to provide access between an operable or boarding position, and, a storage position.
One such prior art access device is disclosed in the Applicant's earlier Australian Application No. 67555/94, and corresponding overseas applications.
The Applicant's earlier access device provides access between a substrate surface and an elevated surface of a vehicle whereby the device is provided with a pair of rigid arms on each side member of the access device, such that, the device is pivotally moveable from a stable lower position to a stable upper position. In the lower position, that access device is inclined at between 60.degree. and 75.degree. relative to a substantially horizontally substrate surface, with the upper end of the access device was positioned substantially adjacent to and forwardly of the elevated surface. In the upper position, that access device is positioned substantially vertically or at a rearwardly inclined angle in a position which is totally upward and rearward of the elevated surface.
In the Applicant's earlier aforementioned application, the access device always remains in a substantially upwardly/downwardly disposed position.
While the Applicant's earlier access device invention provides significant advantages over prior art devices, it has been discovered by the Applicant that it is, in many instances, more useful if the device is not upwardly standing when being stored, but rather, is stored in a substantially horizontal position on the side or across the front or rear of the vehicle.